Boston, Mass.

GAME OVERVIEW:

The Lesley University Men's basketball team earned its third straight road victory in a 72-63 battle at Wentworth Institute of Technology.  The game went into the half tied at 38 and the Leopards pulled ahead for an early lead to start the second.  The Lynx pulled away with a 7 point advantage, their biggest of the night, with under three minutes to play.  The final stretch gave Wentworth their second loss of the season dropping to 2-2, while the Lynx improve to 3-1.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:

• Wentworth led the Lynx the entire first half under the performance of Stephen Azums with 10 points and 9 rebounds.  Matt Vartanian chipped in 8 points off the bench in the first half. 
• Lesley evened the score for the first time with 1:36 left in the first half off a bucket from senior Marquise Johnson.  Johnson tied it up again with fourteen seconds left to send both teams into half time tied at 38.  
• Johnson and junior Xeo Golding combined for 23 of the Lynx's 38 points in the first half.  
• Lesley went on a 10-0 run mid way through the second half sparked by 6 points from freshman Chase Howard.
• The Leopards regained the lead at 54-53 at 8:49, and both teams exchanged leads until the Lynx pulled away for the victory charged by a 3 point make from Golding. 
• The Lesley bench proved to be the difference maker in the game executing 13 of 21 bench points in the second half.  All 15 of the Leopards bench points came in the first half. 
• Transitioning down the court was key to Lesley's success finishing 20 points off the Leopard's turnovers. 
• Howard had a career best 13 points and 3 steals off the bench for the Lynx.
• Azums recorded a double-double for the Leopards with 18 points and 16 rebounds.

STAT LEADERS:

Lesley

1. Xeo Golding- 20 pts, 5 rebounds
2. Marquise Johnson- 15 pts, 8 rebounds, 3 ast.
3. Joey Martin- 14 pts, 6 rebounds, 4 ast.

Wentworth

1. Stephen Azums- 18 pts, 16 rebounds
2. Jason Ganley- 15 pts

INSIDE SCOOP:

"It was a good team win for us tonight,"  said head coach Chris Giordano.  "Wentworth is big, strong, and very skilled, so battling down low with them is tough.  We aim to play a team game and have a balanced attack, and tonight we took a step towards that."

Senior Xeo Golding said "it was a great effort from all our guys and everyone contributed.  We did a nice job rebounding against one of the bigger teams we will see all year."  He commented on Junior Charlie Reznikoff getting injured early in the game; "Chase Howard stepped in when Charlie went down and he made some big plays on both ends of the court for us.  He in particular did a great job stepping up." 

NEXT UP:

The Lynx take a few days off for the holiday break and are back on the court Monday Nov. 27 at 8pm.  Lesley looks to continue its winning ways in non-conference action when they host Mount Ida College.